Soooo, any interesting wildlife encounters?

Turnip · Post by **Turnip** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 10:27 pm

Is Burning Man in scorpion territory?
Or maybe even -gulp- Rattle Snake land? o_o

I haven't really traveled that far from the Chicago area. The most we have is deer, raccoons, and opposumes. Oh, and skunks.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 10:31 pm

I swear I saw a chupacabra there..............

Turnip · Post by **Turnip** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 10:33 pm

ygmir wrote:I swear I saw a chupacabra there..............

Well then, I'll be sure to bring a nice offering in the form of a goat.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 10:35 pm

Watch out for cattle and rabbits on Route 447 on the way to the event. Don't overdrive your headlights (the steers like to sit on the road for warmth at night) and don't swerve to miss the rabbits (you could end up on the side of the road. "Soft Shoulder" doesn't begin to cover it.)
On playa the alkaline keeps out most beasts. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the indigenous fauna are "extremophiles." The playa isn't even active as a habitat in the summer, it's pretty much the brine shrimp/sea monkeys.
There are insects that hitchhike on the vehicles, and one year they had a cat with kittens show up that way, too. (She must have crawled in after they packed.) Pretty much the only dogs are DPW's, okay, I know of one ranger who brings her italian greyhound. (You won't be able to bring a dog, so don't get your hopes up.) So the only wildlife you're likely to see belong to genus Homo.

Turnip · Post by **Turnip** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 10:42 pm

Were the kitties okay? =[

Sensei · Post by **Sensei** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 3:13 am

Turnip wrote:Were the kitties okay? =[

Ya' know, I read something like this and I'm thinking, "SETUP!". Oh fuck yeah, this is a setup. No way, no freakin' way, did somebody just happen to leave that line just layin' around like that! Uh-uh. No sir. Not to-day.

Okay, fine. Someone's got to say something, even if it does feel like a setup. Somebody has to step the fuck up, alright? ALRIGHT???

The kitties were just fine, just fine. Though towards the end of the week they were used for medical experiments, which were then broadcast live for the enjoyment of all.

HAPPY NOW? ARE YOU????

Sensei · Post by **Sensei** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 3:19 am

Quite seriously though, what Crypto said. Watch out for the goddamned cattle and you'll be just fine.

Just drive like you know they're hiding right around the next corner... 'cause they are. Someone hits one every year, don't let it be the Turnip.

Nope.

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:00 am

what out for Hefalumps and woozles.

they tend to steal your honey...

by the way, what's your honey's name and can we see your tits?

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 7:41 am

Gee, Simon, always the welcoming, eloquent one, aren't ya?

In our SUV, we clear the rabbits most of the time. We went out in the Scion for ROM (I was a tag-along) and we managed to whack two bunnies. Very unsettling to feel them thump the underside of the car beneath your bum in the backseat.

But bugs and snakes and critters? Nope.

Artemis · Post by **Artemis** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 9:02 am

AntiM wrote:
But bugs and

I mistakenly read the last part of AntiM's post to say something about "butt bugs", which resulted in a second of horror. Butt bugs, what are those? Damn glad I didn't encounter those...

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 9:10 am

Jackalopes!! The place is actually teeming with them.

But they're good in a stew, just bring a BIG pot.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 9:34 am

Small playa spidersonly.
Mostly harmless.

Barbie · Post by **Barbie** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 10:42 am

I've seen spiders, dragon flys, ravens, and a MOuse... OHhhhhhh and don't throw the ball for white dog

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 12:10 pm

Groundmoose.
No threat, though they tend to curl up on your neck when it's below freezing.
Startling, but they're just being friendly.

I know of a cat that snuck into a cargo truck when it was being loaded and spent the week there.
Neighbor's cat too.
Probably not happy to wake up in black rock.

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 12:52 pm

We had a small bird show up in our camp last year in pretty bad shape. I put a bowl of water under a table and it stayed with us for a day near that spot but eventually left. That's the biggest animal I've seen that wasn't intentionally carried out there.

The drive from the North is more interesting - I've seen a Coyote, a whole family of horses running wild, many cattle, and of course the rabbits. Always the rabbits. One year they came in waves. I swear they were working together, attempting to force me off the road. It didn't work, and my truck had the dented airdam to show for it. Don't swerve! Gently apply the brakes if you wish, but don't do anything that might risk an accident. That's just what the little bastards want. It's much easier to clean rabbit blood from your undercarriage than it is to fix your spine and car frame after you roll your overloaded vehicle.

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 3:17 pm

ah indeed, the infamous Islamic jihad Suicide bunnies...

do not be fooled by their squirrel costumes...

and besides, squirrels only want your nuts, anyways.

VelcroChicken · Post by **VelcroChicken** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 3:24 pm

You have to go on a snipe hunt every night to keep BRC safe.

They mostly come out at night... mostly.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 3:49 pm

Dork wrote: a whole family of horses running wild

There are three herds of feral horses and one of feral donkeys in the National Conservation Area.

wedeliver · Post by **wedeliver** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 4:10 pm

I don't REMEMBER when but a few years ago, some summer event on Playa, the roads were covered with bugs. Where the tires run on the roadway it was a black slippery mess. Must have been July, since those would be june bugs. Musta been Juplaya now that I think about it. maybe 04??

ibdave · Post by **ibdave** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 4:40 pm

Look out for the henwieghs....

oh 4-5 pounds......

motskyroonmatick · Post by **motskyroonmatick** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 4:47 pm

In '04 I must have hit 20 jack rabbits. Probably 3 since then but last year I hit a medium sized deer outside of Cedarville. No damage to my trusty box truck. I gave that deer as much as I could but at the last second it hesitated and thwack. Poor little sucker.

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 4:53 pm

motskyroonmatick wrote:In '04 I must have hit 20 jack rabbits. Probably 3 since then but last year I hit a medium sized deer outside of Cedarville. No damage to my trusty box truck. I gave that deer as much as I could but at the last second it hesitated and thwack. Poor little sucker.

Did the deer have any ID on it? No?

Then it was a Jane Doe.

wedeliver · Post by **wedeliver** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 4:58 pm

AntiM wrote:
motskyroonmatick wrote:In '04 I must have hit 20 jack rabbits. Probably 3 since then but last year I hit a medium sized deer outside of Cedarville. No damage to my trusty box truck. I gave that deer as much as I could but at the last second it hesitated and thwack. Poor little sucker.
Did the deer have any ID on it? No?

Then it was a Jane Doe.

Ouch! (jane doe...doa)

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:14 pm

wedeliver wrote:I don't REMEMBER when but a few years ago, some summer event on Playa, the roads were covered with bugs. Where the tires run on the roadway it was a black slippery mess. Must have been July, since those would be june bugs. Musta been Juplaya now that I think about it. maybe 04??

at times out there, there are huge migrations of locust, or, "Mormon crickets", they look like grasshoppers.....they walk instead of flying, mostly. you can even hear them at times.......not every year, I'm sure they run in a cycle, like rabbits.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:26 pm

ygmir wrote:I'm sure they run in a cycle, like rabbits.

Or cicadas.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:26 pm

motskyroonmatick wrote: I gave that deer as much as I could but at the last second it hesitated and thwack. Poor little sucker. :?

I hope it was a clean kill.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:27 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:
ygmir wrote:I'm sure they run in a cycle, like rabbits.
Or cicadas.

yes, thanks, maybe that's what they're called. Look like grasshoppers, only bigger.....?

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:48 pm

No, I think they are called Mormon Crickets. At any rate that's what one Federal Agency called them when they were doing (I think) an erradication project. (I'm away from my database right now.) It was before I was in the office, so I don't even have the inkling of what was going on.

wikipedia on Mormon Crickets
locusts
Cicada

Cicada has sound files.

motskyroonmatick · Post by **motskyroonmatick** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 11:13 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:
motskyroonmatick wrote: I gave that deer as much as I could but at the last second it hesitated and thwack. Poor little sucker.
I hope it was a clean kill.

It was....All 4 axles.

No ID so it must have been Jane Doe.

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 11:30 pm

I got to see a bat fly into the small dome in 07 and saw a mantis in 08. I felt sorry for the bat since he had a serious WTF look in his eyes. It probably came from a nice wooded town in someone camper or rv. He really didn't look like he was diggin Nevada. The praying mantis was likely blown in from the area, sometime there are large groups. I don't think you get to see much wildlife once the city opens. Nothing really lives out there.. most animals you'll see hitchhiked in with a camper excepting the bugs that get blowin in from the hills. Saw a coyote a ways outside of the event in 08.

Soooo, any interesting wildlife encounters?

Soooo, any interesting wildlife encounters?

Butt Bugs!